By Kathryn Reed

For the last 10 years the South Shore of El Dorado County has had one voice in Placerville on the Board of Supervisors.

The previous decade it had two reps, with one living in the Lake Tahoe Basin.

What the next decade will look like is being discussed. At a meeting in South Lake Tahoe on May 19, county officials went over the five proposals they have come up with. Ultimately it will be up to the Board of Supervisors to decide how the district lines are drawn.

County Surveyor Rich Briner discusses redistricting options. Photo/Kathryn Reed

Les Lovell pointed out that perhaps this board should not be the one to make the decision because it’s possible they would not actually have a district to represent based on how the lines might be drawn.

While the law allows a supervisor to finish his or her term, he or she might have to move to be in a district they really want to represent come the next election.

This could be the scenario for Supervisor Norma Santiago who lives in South Lake Tahoe, but represents the entire basin. Some of the proposals have the South Shore being split. Santiago wants to keep the basin its own district.

Though it’s true the five electeds represent the entire county, they are voted into office by the people in their respective districts – thus the assumption certain people represent certain areas.

While politics is not supposed to be a criterion for how district boundaries are drawn, that has not historically been the case here or other places in the country. All one has to do is look at how the lines were drawn with a little population bubble on the West Slope that benefitted then-Supervisor Helen Baumann. At that time she had the Meyers portion of the South Shore in District 4.

Even Bruce Grego, the lone South Lake Tahoe councilmember to attend the meeting, wanted politics to be part of the process. He said voter registration should be a criterion.

He was told that’s not legal.

Grego also believes Tahoe would be better off with two voices in Placerville.

What the U.S. Constitution says is population equality is of utmost importance when it comes to parceling out districts. This would have each of El Dorado’s five districts having 36,212 residents.

Based on 2010 Census data, this is how the current districts stand:

District 1 pop 38,670 (2,458 over target)

District 2 pop 44,434 (8,222 over target)

District 3 pop 32,010 (4,202 under target)

District 4 pop 35,198 (1,014 under target)

District 5 pop 30,746 (5,466 under target).

(District 5 is Lake Tahoe.)

Depending on how the lines are drawn and who is elected in the future, Tahoe could have one or two reps on the board and neither would have to live in the basin.

Only 20 people showed for a meeting that ultimately will have political consequences for everyone living in El Dorado County.

While the back of the council chambers were covered with maps outlining five proposals, county officials were quick to say they don’t believe one of them will be the final one. They expect public input and comments from the supervisors to help massage the final map.

Rich Briner, county surveyor, said alternatives 4 and 5 are more like what the county had in the 1990s. He described No. 3 as one people hate or love.

“I would be surprised if any one of them is accepted by the board. I believe all will be tweaked,” Briner said.

Another unknown is if El Dorado Hills will be incorporated in the future. In 2006 the attempt to do so failed. But momentum is growing to bring it back for another vote. This would make it the third incorporated city in the county and the largest population-wise, thus significantly shifting the power base.

It’s almost a given El Dorado Hills will be split in representation to divvy up its population.

More information about the proposals, including maps, and a form to make comments are on the county’s website.  Comments will be accepted through the first week of June.

Supervisors are expected to tackle the issue in late June, with a final decision made later in the summer.

On a larger scale, California is the first state to have a citizens committee draw the lines for federal offices. To learn more about that, go online.

By Marijke Rowland, Modesto Bee

Gardnerville resident and former Manteca businessman Robert H. “Budge” Brown is missing after his plane apparently went down near Placerville.

The founder of Oakwood Lake Resort, home of the Manteca Waterslides, left Minden-Tahoe Airport at 4pm Wednesday in his single-engine aircraft bound for a private airstrip in Tracy, according to the FAA and a family spokesman.

Brown, who is in his late 70s, was flying solo in a Lancair Legacy aircraft. Family members reported him overdue at 8:30pm Wednesday, 4½ hours after he took off.

The Minden-to-Tracy flight should take about 45 minutes, said Civil Air Patrol Capt. Matt Scherzi. Family members said Brown has flown the Minden-to-Tracy route 200 to 300 times.

FAA Western-Pacific Region said search crews were looking for the plane near Placerville.

Read the whole story

Tahoe Improv Players will take the stage at the Boathouse Theater on at the Tallac Site on the South Shore on June 7, July 5 and Aug. 2.

Shows start at 7:30pm.

A special benefit performance will be Sept. 6 with all proceeds donated to the Boathouse Theater.

Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for children.

For more information, call (530) 541.4975.

Tahoe City is having a wine walk on June 18 from noon-4pm.

More information is online.

Publisher’s note: This editorial is from the May 8, 2011, Sacramento Bee.

As far as the editors of Chief Executive magazine are concerned, California is beyond terrible. It’s dead last among all 50 states for business climate. No one in his or her right mind would want to do business here.

The magazine, based in Greenwich, Conn., is not alone. Rankings by many supposedly reputable organizations place California at or close to the bottom in all manner of categories.

Business organizations and their allies in the Legislature wave them as they call for tax cuts, an end to suffocating regulation and curbs on nettlesome lawsuits.

The political left shrugs at these findings as the work of self-serving lobby groups. Often they are. An insurance industry-funded study that claims California is litigation-happy has no credibility. But when the Public Policy Institute of California offers a sober, nonpartisan and insightful analysis, policymakers ought to take notice.

In a report issued last month, the organization analyzed rankings by various groups and concludes that some raise legitimate points.

Read the whole story

Sports medicine professionals are invited to attend the Tahoe Center for Orthopedics first Tahoe Sports Medicine Symposium at at MontBleu in Stateline on Aug. 6.

Designed specifically for physicians, chiropractors, nurses, physical and occupational therapists and athletic trainers, this one-day symposium provides an update of current trends in sports medicine and musculoskeletal care. Continuing education credits will be offered.

In-depth evaluation and treatment algorithms from early assessment, surgical treatment, rehabilitation, and prevention for your athletic population will also be provided. Learn about treatment ideas and sports medicine approaches that you will be able to use in your practice on your first day back at work.

Registration deadline July 29.

Three teenagers are in custody and fourth is being sought in the connection with an attempted residential burglary in Truckee.

When Truckee police officers arrived at an apartment complex on May 19 at 2:05am three suspects were outside.

One tried to run, but was arrested after a short struggle. A second subject was located hiding in a nearby stairwell.

Screams from a woman in another unit led officers to the third suspect who they said was attempting to force his way into an apartment unit through the front door. The suspect was physically assaulting the female resident in an attempt to gain entry to her apartment, officers said. The suspect was arrested after a short struggle with officers.

The female resident suffered minor injuries from the assault, but did not require treatment.

Several items of property were recovered by officers. The property appears connected to vehicles that were burglarized during the night at the complex.

A Placer County Sheriff’s Department K-9 unit searched the area for a possible fourth subject. During the search, the K-9 led officers to other units that had apparently been tampered with by the suspects. The fourth subject was not located.

Two of the people arrested are 17-year-old males; the third is Isreal Angelo Tenorio, 18. Charges included burglary, attempted burglary, conspiracy to commit burglary, violation of probation, and resisting arrest. One of the juveniles was also charged with the assault on the resident.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Jason Hildago, Reno Gazette-Journal

Things are about to get hot and steamy at the University of Nevada, Reno’s Redfield Campus as the country’s first national academy for geothermal energy kicks off this summer.

A collaboration between the country’s top geothermal schools, the academy is expected to draw 52 attendees — a quarter of whom will come from overseas. Attendees include professionals, graduate students and undergrads. Classes will be taught by 15 instructors from across the country, including Jefferson Tester of Cornell University and Roland Horne of Stanford.

Participants should expect plenty of geothermal industry know-how to be drilled into their heads during the eight-week course.

“It covers all aspects of geothermal energy development, from permitting, finding a geothermal resource, engineering and drilling, to constructing a power plant and building a business model,” said Wendy Calvin, director of the National Geothermal Academy and the Great Basin Center for Geothermal Energy. “There’s no other thing out there right now in the U.S. that’s like it.”

Read the whole story

By Kathryn Reed

Whoops of approval and applause followed the announcement this morning that Kindred Murillo will be the next president of Lake Tahoe Community College.

“She has a very strong fiscal background, which is what we need,” board President Fritz Wenck told Lake Tahoe News.

Kindred Murillo

He said Murillo was the universal pick among the board, staff and faculty.

It was evident by the reaction by the more than dozen people at the May 19 special board meeting that the board had picked their favorite of the four finalists.

Wenck said one thing that impressed everyone is Murillo’s experience is not limited to academia. She spent 13 years at Southern California Edison in several management positions. She was also on the City Council for Yucca Valley and the town’s first mayor.

Murillo is currently vice chancellor for the Contra Costa Community College District, which has three colleges.

She started her community college career at Desert Community College District as a faculty member. She became vice president of Administrative Services at Pasadena Area Community College.

Murillo will be the fourth full-time president of the two-year college. Steve Maradian has been interim president this school year.

The contract is still being negotiated. It is expected to be voted on at the board’s regular May 24 meeting. Murillo is expected to start work July 1.

• The 17th Annual Spring Concert of the Academy of Dance Arts will be presented in the MontBleu Theatre in Stateline on May 20 and May 21 at 6pm. For tickets, call (775) 588.3515.

• State Sen. Ted Gaines will be having a coffee meet-and-greet with constituents on May 24 from 9-10:30am at Riva Grill in South Lake Tahoe. Everyone is welcome.

• Northstar-at-Tahoe’s golf course opens May 20, with the bike-hike park opening June 10.

• The South Shore should have more tennis courts to play on by August. Bids are being taken to redo two courts at Tahoe Paradise Park.

• Martis Creek Estates along Highway 267 across from Northstar will be open space thanks to the Truckee Donner Land Trust. The trust bought the property in foreclosure so the proposed 250 houses won’t be built.

• Tickets for July 30 Steve Miller Band show at Harveys Lake Tahoe go on sale May 27.

• Alpine Meadows will be open July 2-4.